Peter Rabbit
Peter
Rabbit is a fictional animal character in
various children's stories by Beatrix
Potter.[1] He first appeared in The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902 and subsequently in five more books between 1904
and 1912. Spinoff merchandise includes dishes, wallpaper, and dolls. He appears
as a character in several adaptations.
Background
The
rabbits in Potter's stories are anthropomorphic and wear human clothes: Peter wears a blue jacket with
brass buttons and shoes. Peter, his widowed mother, Mrs. Josephine Rabbit, as
well as his sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail live in a rabbit hole that
has a human kitchen, human furniture, as well as a shop where Josephine sells
various items. Peter's relatives are Cousin Benjamin
Bunny and Benjamin's father, Mr. Bouncer
Bunny.
Peter
Rabbit was named after a pet rabbit whom Beatrix
Potter had as a child, and whom she called
Peter Piper. The first Peter Rabbit story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was created in 1893 initially as a letter to Noel Moore,
the five-year-old son of Potter's former governess, Annie Moore. The boy was
ill, and Potter wrote him a picture and story letter to help him pass the time
and to cheer him up. The letter included sketches illustrating the narrative.
In
June 1903, a trade edition of the tale was published by Frederick Warne & Co, and by the end of the year, 28,000 copies were in print.
Over the years, The Tale of Peter Rabbit has sold more than 40 million
copies worldwide, and as of 2008, the Peter Rabbit series has sold more than
151 million copies in 35 languages.[2][3]
Books
Peter
Rabbit made his first appearance in 1902 in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Where Peter disobeys Josephine's orders and sneaks into Mr.
McGregor's garden, eating as many vegetables
as he can before Mr. McGregor spots and chases him. Peter manages to escape,
but not before losing his jacket and shoes, which Mr. McGregor uses to dress a scarecrow. Peter returns home weary, ill, and naked and is put to bed
with a dose of chamomile
tea.
In
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, first published in 1904, Peter's cousin Benjamin Bunny
brings him back to Mr. McGregor's garden and they retrieve the clothes Peter
lost in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. However, after they gather onions to
give to Josephine, they are captured by Mr. McGregor's cat. Bouncer arrives and
rescues them, but also reprimands Peter and Benjamin for going into the garden
by whipping them with a switch. In this tale, Peter displays some trepidation about
returning to the garden.
In
The Tale of The
Flopsy Bunnies, first published in 1909, Peter has
a small role and appears only briefly. He is grown up and his sister Flopsy is
now married to their cousin Benjamin. The two are the parents of six little
Flopsy Bunnies. Peter and Josephine keep a nursery garden,[a]
and the bunnies come by asking him for spare cabbage.
In
The Tale of Mr. Tod, first published in 1912, Benjamin and Flopsy's children
are kidnapped by notorious badger
Tommy Brock. Peter helps Benjamin chase after Brock, who hides out in the house
of the fox, Mr. Tod. Mr. Tod finds Brock sleeping in his bed, and as the two
get into a scuffle, Peter and Benjamin rescue the children.
Peter
makes cameo appearances
in two other tales. In The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, first published in 1905, Peter and Benjamin are customers
of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, a hedgehog
washerwoman. The two rabbits are depicted in one illustration peeping from the
forest foliage. In The Tale of Ginger
and Pickles, first published in 1909, Peter and
other characters from Potter's previous stories make cameo appearances in the
artwork, patronising the shop of Ginger and Pickles.
To
mark the 110th anniversary of the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit,[4] Frederick Warne & Co. commissioned British actress Emma
Thompson to write The Further Tale of
Peter Rabbit, in which Peter ends up in Scotland after accidentally hitching a ride on Mr. and Mrs.
McGregor's wagon. The book was released on 18 September 2012.[5] In autumn 2012, it was reported that Thompson would write
more Peter Rabbit books.[6] Her next tale, The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit,
was released in 2013, followed by The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit
in 2014.[4]
Merchandising
Potter
created a soft doll depicting Peter Rabbit and a Peter Rabbit board game
shortly after the tale's first publication. The character has been depicted in
a multitude of spinoff merchandise such as porcelain figurines and dishes.
Peter Rabbit had also appeared on the packaging of the infant
formula Enfamil.
Peter
Rabbit was the first soft toy to be patented, in 1903, making Peter the oldest
licensed character.[7] Frederick Warne & Co owns the trademark rights of the Beatrix Potter characters.[8] However, most of the stories are in the US public
domain, as they were published before
1923.
The
Peter Rabbit (rather than other Beatrix Potter characters) stories and
merchandise are very popular in Japan: many Japanese tourists visit the Lake
District after becoming familiar with
Potter's work at an early age at school. There is an accurate replica of Potter's house and a theme park in Japan, and a series of Mr McGregor's
gardens in one of the largest banks. Merchandisers in Japan estimate that 80%
of the population have heard of Peter Rabbit.[9]
Adaptations
In
1936, Walt Disney
expressed interest in making a Peter Rabbit film. He proposed his idea
of a feature-length film to Beatrix
Potter, but she refused and did not give
him the rights.[10]
Peter
Rabbit appears in the 1971 ballet film, The Tales of Beatrix
Potter. He also was featured in HBO's 1991 Storybook Musical adaptation of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, narrated by Carol
Burnett. Several of the stories featuring
Peter Rabbit were also animated for the 1992 BBC anthology
series, The World of Peter
Rabbit and Friends and two
edutainment titles published by Mindscape The Adventures of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny
in 1995[11] and Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit's Math Garden in
1996.[12] A CGI-animated
children's TV series Peter Rabbit premiered on Nickelodeon and CBeebies
in December 2012, with Colin DePaula voicing Peter in its first season
(American version) and L. Parker Lucas taking over the role for the second
season, respectively.[13]
In
2012 Quantum Theatre produced a new stage adaptation of the tales of Peter
Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny. Written by Michael Whitmore the play toured the UK
until 2015
In
2016, Peter Rabbit and other Potter characters appeared on a small number of
collectors' 50p UK coins.[14]
An
animated/live-action adaptation, Peter Rabbit,
produced by Sony Pictures Animation, was released on 9 February 2018.[15][16] James Corden
voices Peter Rabbit with Domhnall
Gleeson and Rose
Byrne starring in the live-action role of
the lead female named Bea (based on Potter herself).[17] Other cast members include Margot
Robbie,[18] Daisy Ridley
and Elizabeth Debicki.[17] Will Gluck
directed and produced the film, and Zareh Nalbandian also produced, while
Lauren Abrahams oversaw the project for Sony Pictures Animation.[17] A sequel Peter Rabbit 2: The
Runaway (2020) reunited most of the cast of
the previous film.
Notes
1.
^ In the original frontispiece, a sign at the garden read, "Peter Rabbit &
Mother-Florists-Gardens neatly razed. Borders devastated by the night or
year."[1]:40
References
1.
^ a b MacDonald, Ruth K. (1986). Beatrix
Potter. Twayne's English Author Series.
Boston: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-6917-X.
2.
^ "United
Media Licensing – PETER RABBIT".
United Media Licensing. Archived from the
original on 24 March 2006. Retrieved 23 June
2006.
4.
^ a b Kirby, Iona (3 October 2014). "Quirky
Emma Thompson plants herself in the spotlight with baggy leaf printed dress
while promoting new Peter Rabbit book". Daily Mail. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
5.
^ Itzkoff, Dave (16 September 2011). "Emma
Thompson to Give Peter Rabbit a New 'Tale'". ArtsBeat blog at NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company.
Retrieved 29 August 2017.
6.
^ "Emma
Thompson Revives Anarchist 'Peter Rabbit'". Morning
Edition. NPR. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 29
August 2017.
7.
^ "Beatrix
Potter's Life". Peter
Rabbit. Archived from the
original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 8
January 2012.
8.
^ "Frederick
Warne applauds the Beijing Xicheng District Administration of Industry and
Commerce's commitment to the protection of international intellectual property
rights". PRNewswire.co.uk (Press release).
London: Frederick Warne & Co. 30 August 2003. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
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